Lu Zhe-Xue, Namboodiri Arya, Collinson Maryanne M
Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284-2006, USA.
ACS Nano. 2008 May;2(5):993-9. doi: 10.1021/nn8000017.
Self-supporting membranes containing either isolated or organized arrays of nanosized pores have been prepared using a nonlithographic approach by coupling sol-gel processing, thin film preparation, and templating. Specifically, polystyrene latex spheres were doped into a hybrid sol prepared from tetraethoxysilane and dimethyldiethoxysilane and the resultant sol spin cast on a sacrificial support. Upon removal of the template and the sacrificial support, the self-supporting nanopore membranes were transferred to glass for characterization by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Through variations in the thickness of the membranes and the size of the polystyrene latex spheres, the geometry (cylinder-like to asymmetric-like) and the dimensions of the nanopores were altered. Pores with diameters that range from 35 to 2100 nm, aspect ratios (defined as the top pore diameter divided by the bottom pore diameter) from 1-4, and depths (effective film thickness) from 50 to 1500 nms have been prepared using templates that range in diameter from 100 to 3100 nm. The method described employs "wet-chemistry", is highly versatile, and is easily amenable to modification by utilizing templates of different sizes and geometries to create stable membranes with different pore geometries and sizes that can be used as platforms for nanofiltration and/or chemical sensors.
通过将溶胶 - 凝胶工艺、薄膜制备和模板技术相结合的非光刻方法，制备了包含纳米尺寸孔的孤立或有序阵列的自支撑膜。具体而言，将聚苯乙烯乳胶球掺杂到由四乙氧基硅烷和二甲基二乙氧基硅烷制备的混合溶胶中，并将所得溶胶旋涂在牺牲支撑体上。去除模板和牺牲支撑体后，将自支撑纳米孔膜转移到玻璃上，通过原子力显微镜和扫描电子显微镜进行表征。通过改变膜的厚度和聚苯乙烯乳胶球的尺寸，纳米孔的几何形状（从圆柱状到不对称状）和尺寸发生了改变。使用直径范围从100到3100 nm的模板，制备出了直径范围从35到2100 nm、纵横比（定义为顶部孔径除以底部孔径）从1到4、深度（有效膜厚度）从50到1500 nm的孔。所描述的方法采用“湿化学”，具有高度的通用性，并且通过利用不同尺寸和几何形状的模板进行修饰很容易，从而创建具有不同孔几何形状和尺寸的稳定膜，这些膜可用作纳滤和/或化学传感器的平台。
